~ "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." ~ "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" ~ "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." ~ "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Edible Christmas Ornaments...These ornaments are rather neat, if you have any hard candy around the house. I had some candy canes, and so I used those. But, if you have any other hard candy, such as jolly ranchers, you can use that instead. The ornament will have a stained glass look. This is a cute idea to do with children...

You can use whatever cookie cutters you like, as long as they are not plastic. Christmas cookie cutters are ideal. They are really easy to make and the kids can break the candies and choose their favorite cookie cutter. Just make sure they don't touch the hot pan...its best if an adult does the rest. I have to say that I made these a couple of times and had different results. I wanted to keep the red and white theme...in order to achieve that, I had to watch the actual baking time. The first time, I baked the candy ornament until the candy canes just melted. This kept the red and white showing throughout. The second time, I baked it a couple of minutes longer and the candy turned pink and clear. You can peek through the oven door to see how you want your ornament to look like and pull the pan out. Just make sure the candy doesn't boil over, then you will have a mess. They are cute tied with a ribbon and hung on the tree...

We recently had some snow here in Montana and -20 degs weather! So, I took advantage of the snow and went out to hang the ornaments on a real live Christmas tree. As you can see, the needles were quite frosted from the really, really cold weather. I snapped a few pictures and ran in the house to defrost:)... Hope you enjoy...Tip:Don't forget to spray the inside of the ornament with oil...that is very important!If the ornament cracks after taking it out of the cookie cutter, place it back in the cutter. You can then put it back in the warm oven for a little bit until it seals back together.... You will need:adapted from here
Hard candy
oil
aluminum foil or silpat
ribbon
cookie cutters Directions: If using aluminum foil:
1. Line the bottom and up the sides of the cookie cutters with aluminum foil. Make sure the bottom lays flat with no creases.
2. Lightly spray a cookie sheet and the insides of the cutters with oil. Place them slightly apart on the cookie sheet. If using silpat:
1. Oil the inside of the cutters well, making sure you get all the nooks. Place them on the silpat lined cookie sheet.
1. Unwrap the hard candy and place in a single layer inside each cookie cutter. If using candy cane, break in smaller pieces. I noticed that the smaller pieces ended up mixing into a pink color. So, if you want your red and white lines to not mix, I suggest you break the candy cane pieces into larger pieces, not so finely crushed.
2. For a solid color ornament, use a layer of one color candy. For a stained glass effect, crush several colors, mix, and place in a single layer. The colors will blend when the candy melts.
3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 7-10 minutes until the candy melts.Make sure you watch it at the end so that it doesn't boil over. My white and red candy cane ornament took about 7 minutes ...while the clear pink one took 8-9 minutes.
4. Use oven mitts to remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Immediately add candy sprinkles on the top of each Christmas ornament, if desired.
5. Cool 1-2 minutes, then use a toothpick to carefully poke a hole through the top of each ornament. If the toothpick sticks to the candy, wait a bit more and try again. Don't let it cool too much as it will harden and you won't be able to poke a hole. But, in case that happens, you can always put the pan back in the oven for a few seconds or so. The candy will melt again and you can try again.
6. Cool completely.I left mine until it was almost cool to handle and then pushed it out of the cookie cutter.
Peel off the foil and carefully remove each ornament from the foil. If you were using the silpat method, some candy might have leaked from the cutters...quite normal. Break the candy that has collected on the outside of the ornament first...and then push the ornament out from the cookie cutter, being careful.
7. Hang with a narrow ribbon.

Val, I'm sorry the candy stuck to the cutters...please read the Tip information( above the recipe) on how to prevent that in the future. hopefully next time it will work for you. Thanks for stopping by...

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" Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb.11:1

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" By day the LORD directs His love, at night His song is with me—." Ps.42:8

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BOW THE KNEE

There are moments on our journey following the LordWhere God illumines ev’ry step we take.There are times when circumstances make perfect sense to us,As we try to understand each move He makes.When the path grows dim and our questions have no answers, turn to Him.

Chorus:Bow the knee;

Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.Bow the knee;

Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity.And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan,In the presence of the King, bow the knee.

There are days when clouds surround us, and the rain begins to fall,The cold and lonely winds won’t cease to blow.And there seems to be no reason for the suffering we feel;We are tempted to believe God does not know.When the storms arise, don’t forget we live by faith and not by sight.

HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US

How deep the Father's love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the Chosen One

Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon a cross

My sin upon His shoulders

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him thereUntil it was accomplishedHis dying breath has brought me lifeI know that it is finishedI will not boast in anythingNo gifts, no power, no wisdomBut I will boast in Jesus ChristHis death and resurrectionWhy should I gain from His reward?I cannot give an answerBut this I know with all my heartHis wounds have paid my ransomWhy should I gain from His reward?I cannot give an answerBut this I know with all my heartHis wounds have paid my ransom